Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry is always looking to improve the roster, and one need in the past few years has been wide receiver. Berry had traded for a wide receiver every offseason since 2022 when he acquired Amari Cooper from the Dallas Cowboys. In 2023, he added Elijah Moore from the New York Jets, and then this March, he traded for Denver Broncos Jerry Jeudy.
Cooper and Moore are heading into the last year of their contracts, and there is a great chance both won’t be playing on the shores of Lake Erie next season. So Berry might be trying to find another running mate for Jeudy this offseason who can be here for the next handful of years, and that could be San Francisco 49ers star Brandon Aiyuk.
Aiyuk has been waiting for a new contact from the 49ers all off-season, and as of right now, the team is not willing to pay him. Aiyuk reported to training camp last week, but he still wants a new deal or to be traded to a team that will give him what he wants, and the Cleveland Browns came up for his services this weekend.
Cleveland Browns Wouldn’t Have To Give Up A First Rounder
Cleveland Browns reporter Mary Kay Cabot, who covers the team for Cleveland.com, wrote a column Sunday night stating what the Browns would probably have to give up if they wanted to trade for the 49ers star.
They probably wouldn’t have to offer their first round pick — their first one after three years without one from the Deshaun Watson trade — but perhaps a second-rounder in 2025 would get the job done. That’s what longtime 49ers beat writer Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area speculated, that the Browns would send multiple picks, including their second-rounder next year.
In addition to the trade compensation, the Browns would likely have to agree with Aiyuk’s agents on a multi-year extension, somewhere in the $30 million a year range. It’s what Aiyuk has been seeking — the going rate for elite wideouts these days — and the 49ers to this point haven’t been willing to go that high.
It’s why Aiyuk who’s heading into the final year of his rookie contract, his fifth-year option year, at $14.124 million, reported to 49ers camp on July 23rd but is staging a hold-in and hasn’t practiced.
It’s great news that the Cleveland Browns wouldn’t have to give up a first-round pick. They haven’t had one since 2021, when they traded the last three years to the Houston Texans for Deshaun Watson in 2022.
The Cleveland Browns only have to give up a second-round pick, and a few other picks would be a great win for a team looking to upgrade its position group. However, they still have to pay him, and according to Cabot, it could be in the $30 million a year range.
It will be exciting to see if the Browns go after Aiyuk. If they somehow land him, that could be the missing piece that starts a run toward the Super Bowl.
